Get Your Green On! 5 Reasons to Drink Green Smoothies and A Great Tasting Recipe
You’ve heard that green smoothies are healthy and they’re getting more popular by the day but maybe you still need convincing.
Here are my top 5 reasons to give them a try and my go-to recipe for somebody starting out:
- Green smoothies are very nutritious. They’re a cheeky way of upping your fruit and veg intake without even trying!!
- When blended really well green smoothies are easy on the digestive system making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate so they get to work nearly straight away.
- As opposed to juices, green smoothies still have fibre. Fibre fills you up so a smoothie is going to be more filling than a juice. And because the ingredients are generally low GI green smoothies won’t cause a spike in your blood sugar. An added bonus of the fibre is that it keeps things ticking along in the elimination (aka poop) department.
- Due to the high levels of leafy greens included in green smoothies they are usually high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. And they are loaded with folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Leafy greens strengthen the immune, blood and respiratory systems. They are high-alkaline foods so they neutralize acidic conditions and filter out pollutants thereby detoxifying the body.
- Green smoothies are easy to make and quick to clean up after. They can be made ahead of time, in bulk and either frozen or kept in the fridge for a few days making them a great option for a quick on-the-go breakfast or snack at work or while travelling.
When starting to make green smoothies, you don’t want to go too heavy handed with certain leafy greens that have a stronger taste as you may end up thinking you are drinking a forest. Usually you have to work your way up to that!!
Here’s a great tasting (I swear!) smoothie recipe that’s a good way to start you on your green smoothie journey. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, paleo and raw:
Ingredients:
1 medium sized ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
1 medjool date (make sure stone is removed)
½ courgette chopped up
½ ripe avocado
2-3 big handfuls of spinach
½ tsp of ground cinnamon
1 cup of coconut milk (chilled) (or your favourite non-dairy milk).
Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Notes:
You can add a few ice cubes if you want to make the smoothie colder.
Experiment with the amount of coconut milk you add. Sometimes you may want the smoothie thicker or thinner.
If you don’t have a high speed blender, blend the spinach and courgette first with a little of the milk and then add the other ingredients.
A Healthy Happy Glow 
looks so yummy!!
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